DCAU #353: Missed Connections

IN THIS ONE... Robin and Nightwing fall down a chute meant to snare Batman's... heart.

CREDITS: Written by Scott Peterson; art by Tim Levins and Terry Beatty.

REVIEW: I'm not sure I buy the bit about Catwoman creating an elaborate trap for Batman to fall into so she can spend quality time with him, but Peterson's "clueless Batman" here works in the story's favor, with a cute "you didn't know?" coda. Okay, I may be being unkind. It's just that in the last two issues, Batman has missed the obvious several times. There's even a scene in this issue where he pulls a man out of a car teetering off the side of a bridge and almost causes his young son to fall with it. It's not Peterson's fault that we've gotten used to an infallible Batman, and I do appreciate his more human take on the character. I just need to get used to it. Still, what did Catwoman expect to accomplish even if Batman did fall for her trap?

The fact that other characters do fall for it - Nightwing, Robin and Croc! - is humorous, but the comedy is undermined by how this actually plays out as a mystery. We don't know until the third act that Selina is behind this, so we can't enjoy her get foiled. As a mystery, it's intriguing, but only until you get to the solution, which is rather silly. Missed Connections awkwardly straddles the two genres and (narrowly) fails with each one.

I'm a bit more interested in Dick's abortive date, actually.

REREADABILITY: Medium - Both Batman and Catwoman have had better moments, though this isn't a bad outing for the rest of the family.